A 300-foot-long barge loaded with 3.1 million gallons of gasoline ran aground on rocks in New York's harbor late Wednesday, spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of gasoline into the East River flowing alongside some of Manhattan's most densely populated neighborhoods. Firefighters, fearing a spark could touch off major explosions, closed a nearby railroad bridge and a major section of the Triborough Bridge, a main commuter roadway.

A 300-foot-long barge loaded with 3.1 million gallons of gasoline ran aground on rocks in New York's harbor late Wednesday, spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of gasoline into the East River flowing alongside some of Manhattan's most densely populated neighborhoods. Firefighters, fearing a spark could touch off major explosions, closed a nearby railroad bridge and a major section of the Triborough Bridge, a main commuter roadway.